eightring,
Those are "light" 44 mag loads you are comparing barrel length vs velocity.
A bad analogy would be comparing a Toyota Tacoma and a 1 ton diesel pick-up truck pulling a 3000 pound tent trailer. Yes, both will pull it just fine, and yes the 1 ton diesel is overkill for that job.
But then compare the same two trucks pulling a 10,000 pound trailer. The little Tacoma "could" pull it, but won't like it and wont last very long.
Back to the Alaskan: Where it comes to shine is heavy bullets. 300 grains and up. Those don't need to be moving very fast to be effective against things that want to eat you. I wouldn't think many would purchase the Alaskan to be a primary hunting weapon. Some purchase it to be a self defense handgun while out in the wilds. I'm sure others just purchase it because it looks cool and they "just want it".
The Rugers can take a beating and handle stout loads like
Buffalo Bore as well as reloads that are well above what normal factory loads offer.